Vending machine



Oct. 27 1936: E ET AL 2,058,706

VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. '12, 1931' 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 v |NvEN; oRs J Y 7M 772/ 102 THEIR ATTORNEY.

Oct. 27, 1936.

A. LEIS ET'AL VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. '12, 1951 4 sheets-sheet 2 7715/3 ATTORNEY Oct. '27, 1936. A. F. LElS ET'AL ,7

' VENDING MACHINE Q Filed Dec. 12, 1931 4 sheets-Sheet s Q W 'THHK ATTORNEY.

Oct. 27, 1936. A. F. LElS ET AL VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 12,- 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INV ENTOR BY WM/WWW M 247? r m ATTORNEY.

" shown in the same position as in Fig.

Patented Get. 27, 1936 rest omcs VENDING Arthur F. Leisand Vincent H. Weber,

. Dayton, Ohio Application Daem n- 2, an Serial No. 580,517 11 clams. I (crim -sai The present invention relates to vendingljr nai 'chines and more particularly to coin controlled newspaper vending machines.

i; One of the objects of thepresent invention is to provide a vending machine which may be rendered operable either by coin orcoins of certain denomination or by a larger number of coins of smaller denomination.

1 In carrying out the above object it is a furtherobject of the invention to provide alatch mechanism for an ejector and to provide a plu :rality of different size slots for receiving and retaining different size coins and to provide a latch 1 releasing mechanism arranged tobe operated through either coin or coins of one denomination or a larger number of coins of a smaller denomination.

A further object is to place the slots oneabove the other with the larger slot at the top andto arrange the latch releasing mechanism to operate through the coin in the upper slotonly. i

A further object is to provide improved coin dumping mechanism for the coin inboth slots.

A still further object-is toprovidefor adjustment between the knife-like ejector and the ire taining wall for the folded paper whereby to in-v sure that the ejector slips within the folds of the paper to be ejected.

cc Further objects and advantages of the present 30 invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: i

Fig. 1 is a perspective vending machine; v p

Fig. 2 is a top view thereof, parts being broken away to show the interior of the box;

view of our improved Fig. 3 is a side view partly insection and'show ing the ejector, the actuating mechanism therefor and the latch for the actuating mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a view inv all respects similar to Fig. 3, except that it shows the position of the latch release mechanism when a coin is inserted inthe machine; A h

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 showing the mechanism in the home position; i i

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the mechanism Fig. '7 is a view similar to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, but showing the mechanism in the extreme paper ejecting position;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line '3-8 or Fig- 5;

Fig. 9 is .a sectional View of the coin slots showing a coin of larger'denomination therein, and

. Fig. 10' is 'a view similar to Fig. 9, but showing the slots .containing a plurality of coins of smaller denomination.

Forthepurpose of illustrating our present invention, we have shown same in connection with a coin controlled, newspaper vending machine in which thereis shown a box enclosed on four sides and. the bottom and preferably made of sheet metal- A removable cover 2|. is provided to give accesstothe'interior of the box. The front of the box is penas at 22, which opening may be coveredbya plate of glass or the like. Folded newspapers or th'e likemay be inserted through the top. and are preferably stacked Vertically. .with the back of the folds; resting on the bottom and theunfolded edges extending toward the left. A lar'ge fla't paper retaining plate 24 abuts the back of the rear newspaper and a spiral spring 25, is interposedibetween plate 24 and the back wall 28 of the.box2il.. This spring 25 maintains the newspapers in;folde d and stacked relation and urges thesametoward the front of the box. Preferably the -.plate 24 has-imprinted thereon opposite the opening 22, the word Empty so as to indicate when norn ore newspapers are contained within the box. Thelbottom wall 21 adjacent the front is provided'with a slot 28 (see Figs. 1 and?) through which the paper adjacent the front wall is ejecteddownwardly and out of thebox.

'The mechanism for ejecting the folded newspapers comprises a knife-like ejector 30 which is carried by a rotating shaft 3|, the latter of which is suitably journalled in a main casting 32. This casting is carried by the bottom wall 21 of the box. Tharod or shaft 3| extends to the outside front-ofthe box and there carries an operating handle 34. .The rod 3| extends rearwardly through thejournals and 36 and the rear end thereof carries a ring 31 which is secured thereto by pin 38. This ring 31 and pin 38 prevent the rod 3| from sliding forwardly and a pin 39. extending :through the handle 34 and rod 3| prevents the rod 3| from sliding rearwardly. Thus, the rod is maintained at all times in operating position; *A' spring 4|has one end thereof secured tot'herod 3| by a pin42 and the other end thereof is secured to the outside of the journal 35. This "spring is" biased to rotate the rod 3| and therefore the handle 34in a clockwise direction and astop 44 formed integrally with the casting 32 engages ear 45 at the bottom of the knife-like ejector 30. so as :to limit the counter-clockwise movement of the rod 3 I, handle 34 and ejector 30. Therefore, the home position of the ejector and handle is that shown in Figs. 6 and '1.

Latching and latch release mechanism are provided for the ejector and will be described later. However, when the ejector is operable to eject a paper from the machine it can be moved counter-clockwise by the handle 34. The knifelike edge of the ejector 30 will move downwardly and inwardly into the paper between the folds thereof and when it engages the bottom fold of the paper, it will force same downwardly through the slot 28 in the bottom wall 21 of the box and force one copy of the paper out of the box. The movement however, of the ejector is limited to that shown in Fig. '7 by suitable stop :mechanism and therefore will not push the paper completely out of the box but will eject same far enough that the manipulator may grasp same and pull it out of the box. It will of course be understood that the spring 25 sufficiently binds the partly ejected paper so as to prevent it from falling when it is partly ejected from the box.

The main casting 32 includes an upright frame including a flange portion--and a rearwardly extending fiat portion 5| (see Fig. 3). The lower part of the flat portion 5| provides bifurcated part 52 between the legs of which there is inserted a lever 53 which is'fulcrumed to the ears of the bifurcated partby a pin 54. Thislever 53 cooperates with a cam 58 carried by the rod 3| to form a latch for the ejector 38 soas to prevent the operation of the ejector 38 by the handle 34 until after the coin, or coins, have been inserted. The upper end of the lever 53 has screw-threaded engagement with a bolt 51. This bolt is bent to provide an arm 58 (see Fig. 8) and a spring59 is hooked to the arm'58 and an ear 60 carried by the main lever15 and normally tends-to rotate the lever 53 in a clockwise direction. The lower part of the lever53 is provided with a cut-away portion 62 (see Fig. 4) to form a-catch 53 and this catch will cooperate with a shoulder 64: formed by a out-away portion 85in the cam 55.

The spring 59 tends to cause the'lower endand catch part of the lever 53 to follow the cam=surface of the cam 56. Thus, it will-be seen-that when an attempt is made to actuate-ithehandle 34 to eject a paper from themachine'without the insertion of the proper coin or coins,-that-is, when an at-tempt'ismade to move the-'mechanism' from the position shown in- Fig. 5, the-spring 59 will rotate the lever 53in a'clockwise-direction and the catch 63' will follow the cut-awayportion- 65 formed in cam 56 and willthen engage-"the shoulder 64 on the cam 56, as shown in Fig. 3, and thereby lockor latch the knife'and handle from further counter-clockwise movement.

Coin controlled mechanism is provided for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective. This coin controlled mechanism-includes a relatively large groove 10 formed in the main casting 32 and which registers with the coin slot 1| extending to theoutside and frontof the box. A smaller groove 12 is provided in the main casting 32 directly below the groove 10 and where these slots join, they provide a retaining means .13 for larger coins, for examplefive'cent pieces, while the penny pieces may drop to the bottom of slot 12 (see Figs. 9 and 10). A lever 15 closes one wide side of grooves 18 and 1|v andthe bottom of groove 12 andtherefore cooperates with the main 'casting. to form the. closedbottom coin chute. This lever is pivoted tothemaincasting 32 at 11. The ear 60 to-which the spring-59wis attached is formed integrally with the lever 15 and this spring normally tends to hold the lever 15 in the position shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 8.

The right end 18 of the bolt 51 extends a substantial distance through the lever 53 and holes 19 and are provided respectively in the upright 5| and the lever 15 to receive end 18 of bolt 51 so that when no coin is in position directly opposite the opening 19, the end 18 will be free to move within the holes, permitting the spring 59 to rotate lever 53 so that its catch will be effective to prevent the operation of the ejector. When the coin, or coins, have been inserted in the coin chute, they clog the opening 88 and limit the movement of end 18 and consequently the clockwise rotation of lever 53. The position of the lever 53, when a coin is directly opposite the hole 19, is shown in Fig. 4. Thus, when the lever '53 is prevented from rotating in a clockwise direc tion,..the catch 63 on the lever cannot engage the shoulder 64 on the cam 55 to stop same and therefore the cam and likewise the knife-like ejector 30 can be rotated counter-clockwise by the handle 34. Thus, it will be seen that when a coin is opposite the opening '19 in upright 5|, the ejector can be operated to push a paper throughthe bottom wall of the box 20.

The bottom of. the coin chute is formed by a ledge 8| of the lever 15 andif this ledge were not present, the coins in the lower slot would be free to fall through the slot. It is apparent therefore that when this ledge is moved outwardly the coins will be permitted to drop from the slot. As previously stated, the lever 15 is pivoted at 11 and is therefore free to move to the right for dumping the coins from the chute formed by said lever and the'flat portion ofupright 5 I. The rotation of the handle 34 for the purpose of ejecting the paper from the machine is also utilized for dumping the coins from the slots. The lever 15 includes a downwardly and inwardly extending arm portion 83 having a camming surface'84 arranged to be engaged by the ear which also forms a cam. Thus, when the shaft 3| is rotated, the ear 45 will engage the camming surface 84 and cam the lever 15 outwardly near the end of the ejecting movement of the handle 34. The ledge 8| may be sloped inwardly and downwardly slightly so that the coins may readily slide off of the ledge. .A coin box-"'85 is disposed directly below the coin chute so as to catch the coins which fall therefrom. The cams 56 and 45 are arranged with respect to the latch 63 and the camming surface 84 of lever 15 so that the lever 15 is not cammed outwardly until the lever 56 has moved its shoulder beyond the catch 63 and therefore the lever 53 is prevented from moving clockwise by the cam 56 atthe time thatlever-15 is cammed .outwardly. The movement of thelever- 15 is great enough to completely move the coinin the upper groove from binding relation betweenthe extension 18' and lever 15 so-that this coin at the top is also free tof-all (see Fig. '7).

-By arranging -the-- grooves 12 and :10 directly above one another and by providing a ledge 13 for coins of larger denomination, the releasingmeans for the latch may be operated either .by coin or coins of. atcertain denomination, ,and/or by a largernumber of coins ,of smaller denomination. Although I have shown my; mechanism as being operable byonecoin of largerdenomination and byvthree coins of smaller denomination, it is to be understood that the ledge forming, the retainingmeans for either; the small onlargedenomination may be raised or lowered or such '(other changes may be made whereby a plurality of coins of larger denomination will be necessary before the mechanism can operate to release the latch and of course such other changes could be made so that only two or more coins of. smaller denomination would be sufficientxto cause a releasing of the latch.

A tie-rod 88 (see Fig. 2) connects the rear and front walls of the box 20. This rod is provided at the rear end with a head 89 and the opposite or front end 90 is threaded. Clips 9| and 92 are suitably secured to the front and back of the box 20. These clips retain the rod 88 in position but permit the rotation thereof and this rotation may be effected by a wing 81 suitably secured to the rod 88. The clip 9| is formed to prevent rotation of a nut 88a whichreceives the threaded end 90 of rod 88. Thus, it will be seen that by'rotating the rod 88 the sheet metal front and rear wall of the box may be flexed so as to move toward or away from one another. The bottom wall of the box which carries the main casting 32 however remains stationary when the front and rear wall is moved. In this manner the front wall can be 5 moved independently of the casting 32 and the knife-like ejector 30 and consequently the distance between the front wall and the ejector can be adjusted; It is apparent therefore that the relative position of the ejector and the paper to be ejected can be adjusted so that the knife-like ejector will always slip between the fold in the side edge of the paper. If the issue is thick, the rod 88 is turned in one direction to force the front outwardly and conversely, if the issue is thin, the rod 88 is turned in the opposite direction to pull the front wall inwardly.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination of an ejector, means for actuating said ejector, relatively wide side walls and relatively narrow end walls providing a narrow vertically extending coin chute for a plurality of edgewise stacked coins, latch mechanismnormally maintaining the actuating means inoperative, means 0 rendered operable bythe upper of stacked coins for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective whereby the actuating means is rendered operable, a lower part of one of said side walls of the chute being spreadable for dumping all of the coins out of the chute, and means operated by the actuating means for moving said side wall when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

2. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, latching mechanism associated with the actuating mechanism for preventing the operation of the latter, means providing a narrow vertically extending coin chute arranged to receive a plurality of edgewise stacked coins of small'denomination, said means having an opening extending through a wide wall of the chute at a point spaced from the bottom of the chute at least more than the height of one of the coins, means extending into said chute at such position that a lesser number of coins of larger denomination than coins of smaller denomination are required to detain a coin at said point, and a coin detained device for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective, said device having a part being arranged to engage a coin in the chute for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective, a;

side wall of said chute being spreadable, for

dumping said coin and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said side wall a of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

4. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means providing a vertically extending coin chute, latching mechanism having a part adapted to extend into said chute and associated with the actuating mechanism for rendering same ineffective, said latching mechanism part being arranged to engage a coin in the chute for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective,

a side wall of said chute being pivoted at the top thereof for separating same from the other wallfor dumping said coin, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for movingsaid wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective 5. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, relatively wide side walls and relatively narrow end walls providing a narrow coin chute, latching mechanism having a part 1 thereon adapted to extend into said chute and associated with the actuating mechanism for" rendering same ineffective, said latching mechanism part being arranged to engage a coin in the chute for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective, a side wall of said chute being movable relative to the other side wall, means for yieldably holding said side wall in chute forming position, and means operated by the actuating mech-- anism for moving the said side wall outwardly when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

6. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means providing a coin chute,

latching mechanism having a part adapted to extend into said chute and associated with the actuating mechanism for rendering same ineffective, means for yieldingly urging said part into said chute, means actuated by the actuating mechanism for rendering the means for urging operative, said part being adapted to engage a coin in the chute for rendering the urging means ineffective whereby the actuating mechanism is rendered operable for actuating the ejector, a side wall of said chute being movable and yieldingly held in chute closing position by said urging means, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said wall when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

7. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means providing a coin chute, latching mechanism having a part adapted to extend into said chute and associated with the actuating mechanism for rendering same ineffective, means for yieldingly urging said part into said chute, means actuated by the actuating mechanism for rendering the means for urging operative, said part being adapted to engage a coin in the chute for rendering the urging means ineffective whereby the actuating mechanism is rendered operable for actuating the ejector, a side wall of said chute being movable relative to the other side wall for dumping said coin, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said side wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

8. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means forming a coin chute, latching mechanism for preventingthe operation of said actuating mechanism, said latching mechanism including a cam and a cam follower, cooperating catch elements on the cam and cam follower for limiting the movement of the cam, said cam follower having a part adapted to extend into the coin chute, means for yieldingly urging said part into said chute and for rendering said cooperating catch elements effective, said part being arranged to engage the face of a coin of proper denomination supported in proper position by said chute for preventing the catch element of the cam follower from limiting the movement of said cam, one side wall of said chute being mov-. able relative to the opposite side wall, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said movable wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

9. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means forming a coin chute,

latching mechanism for limiting the movement of the ejector from its home position, said latching mechanism including a cam actuated by said actuating mechanism-and a cam follower, cooperating catch elements on the cam and cam fol lower for limiting the movement of the cam from its home position, said cam follower having a part adapted to extend into the coin chute, means for yieldingly urging said part into said chute and for rendering the catch elements effective upon movement of the cam from its home position, said cam having a surface cooperating with the cam follower for preventing said urging means from moving the said part into the chute when the cam is in its home position, said part being arranged to engage a coin of proper denomination supported in proper position by said chute when the cam is moved from its home position for preventing the catch element from limiting the movement of the cam, one side wall of said chute being movable relative to the opposite side wall, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said movable wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

10. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with an ejector, of mechanism for actuating said ejector, means forming a coin chute latching mechanism for limiting the movement of the ejector from its home position, said latching mechanism including a cam actuated by said actuating mechanism and cam follower, cooperating catch elments on the cam and cam follower for limiting the movement of the cam from its home position, said cam follower having a part adapted to extend into the coin chute, means for yieldingly urging said part into said chute and for rendering the catch elements effective upon movement of the cam from its home position, said cam having a surface for moving the said part out of the chute when the cam is being moved toward its home position whereby the chute may receive a coin and having a surface cooperating with the cam follower for preventing said urging means from moving the said part into the chute when the cam is in its home position, said part being arranged to engage a coin of proper denomination supported in proper position by said chute when the cam is moved from its home position for preventing the catch element from limiting the movement of the cam, one side wall of said chute being movable relative to the opposite side wall, and means operated by the actuating mechanism for moving said movable wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

11. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination of an ejector, means for actuating said ejector, means providing a vertically extending coin chute, latch mechanism having a part adapted to extend into said chute and associated with the actuating mechanism for rendering the latch mechanism ineffective, said latch mechanism part being arranged to engage the face of a coin in the chute for rendering the latching mechanism ineffective, a side wall of said chute being spreadable for dumping said coin, and means operated with the actuating mechanism for moving said side wall of the chute when the latch mechanism is ineffective.

ARTHUR F. LEIS.

VINCENT H. WEBER. 

